In the past, people have carried many different items in their wallets or purses, for example. Certain of these items store personal information, provide identification for various purposes, allow the person to make purchases, provide proof of particular facts, or a combination thereof. Certain items that have been carried in wallets include credit cards, bank cards, debit cards, check books, bank books, bank account records, credit card records, bills, identification cards, licenses such as a driver's license, CDL, pilot's license, etc., social security cards, voter registration cards, passports, visas, immigration cards, loyalty cards, e.g., for grocery stores such as SAFEWAY™, and ALBERTSONS™, retail stores such as GAP™, and STARBUCKS™, membership cards such as COSTCO™, REI™, gyms, and country clubs, frequent flyer program cards or numbers, rewards programs, video clubs, library cards, insurance cards, such as health, auto, home, and life insurance, login and password information, elevator cards, parking structure cards, room keys, phone numbers, e-mail and street addresses, calendars, calling cards, medical information such as medical history, drugs being taken, immunization records, living wills, medical power of attorney, emergency contact information, personal photographs, personal memorabilia, receipts, proof of warranties and warranty information, tax records, proof of professional credentials, proof of authority, and business cards, as examples.
In the past, people have also carried mobile phones, which, besides being used to place and receive calls, have contained information such as phone numbers and calendars, and some of which have had Internet access. Mobile phones typically include processors, digital storage, displays, and software, among other things, and many hold and display photographs, provide for purchases on the Internet, include a global positioning system (GPS) or a combination thereof. Further, systems and methods have been developed to manage various information and activities including personal information. Various such systems and methods are computer implemented, involve computer software, utilize computer storage databases, are network or Internet based, or a combination thereof, as examples. Still further, bar codes, near field communication (NEC) and Bluetooth communication, among other technologies, have been used to communicate with electronic devices of certain types. Even further, personal digital assistants (PDAs), such as the BLACKBERRY™ have been used to send and receive e-mails, as well as placing and receiving telephone calls, although, in the past, users of PDAs have typically had to sort through a large number of e-mails to find particular information that they needed or desired.
However, needs and the potential for benefit exist in the area of such information and item management, and these needs and potential for benefit often extend to many types of personal, business, and professional information. For instance, people often have many things that they would like to place in their wallets, and people must often choose between competing items to carry. Further, wallets and purses are often too large or bulky to carry conveniently, particularly when people are wearing particular styles of clothing. Thus, needs and potential for benefit exist for systems and methods that reduce the number of items that need to be carried in a wallet or that increase the amount of information that can be carried on one's person. In addition, there is a need and potential for benefit to be able to efficiently identify, replace, cancel, or destroy items or information, for example, of the type carried in a wallet or purse, if the wallet, purse, or one or more items is lost, stolen, damaged, or destroyed.
Furthermore, needs and potential for benefit, exist for a person to be able to use the Internet, or otherwise provide for efficient communication, entering of data, and transferring of data, but needs also exist that an acceptable level of data security be maintained with such systems and methods. Further needs and areas for potential for improvement include improving the availability of information from a number of different sources, reducing duplication in the entering of information, organizing information and providing information in a more-usable form, more effectively transferring information between a storage device and another device, and providing more information, more up-to-date information, or both, to a user. Further needs and areas for potential for improvement include updating information, for example, in a timely manner or in real time, and providing notifications or alarms, at least for particularly important information.
In specific examples, needs and potential for benefit exist in the areas of methods and systems for managing information for a number of users, using the Internet and mobile phones of the users. Particular needs and potential for benefit exist for such systems and methods that receive information from users, that include a criteria for alarming, that receive information from one or more third parties, that select a fraction of the information from third parties, that transmit this fraction of the information to the mobile phones of the users, where the information is organized in a manner that it is accessible to the users. Additional needs and potential for benefit exist for certain processes to be repeated, and for alarms to be provided to the users when certain information satisfies a criteria, for example, that the users have identified. Further needs and potential for benefit exist for software modules operating on servers and on mobile phones that provide for secure storage of information, that select, send, and receive nuggets of personal information, and that store the nuggets for access by the user, for example, without sorting through a number of e-mails.
In addition, in the past, various systems and methods for authorizing actions and authenticating access have existed. For example, locks and keys have been used to control physical access to spaces (e.g., locked doors on buildings, electronic keys for hotel rooms, etc.). However, people had to carry such keys to obtain access. Passwords and pass codes have been used to authorize access to controlled spaces, and to grant computer access to electronically stored data. However, users must remember these passwords or pass codes. Systems and methods have also existed for authorizing other actions. For example, cards have also been used to authorize financial transactions, such as payment at the point of sale for the purchase of goods or for the provision of services. Besides requiring the presence of the card, transactions have been authorized using bank card networks, which verified that the cards were authorized. Signatures have also been used to authorize transactions. However, users needed to carry the cards, and signatures have been forged.
Needs and potential for benefit exist for other or better systems and methods for authorizing such actions, or other actions, that do not require the users to carry additional cards or keys, remember additional passwords, codes, or information, that use items already carried by the users, that use items that are frequently used and controlled by the user, that are more convenient, that offer alternatives, that are easily trackable, that provide an ability to authorize a variety of different actions, that cannot easily be forged, or a combination thereof.
Systems and methods have also existed to track individuals. For example, devices have been used to track prisoners who have been placed under house arrest that are locked onto the prisoners and alarm when a prisoner travels more than a predetermined distance from their home. Devices have also been used to track vehicles, including using GPS technology, to aid in recovery if the vehicles are stolen. However, needs and potential for benefit exist for systems and methods that track individuals without using such devices, for particular applications. As an example, needs and potential for benefit exist for systems and methods that track individuals by tracking their mobile phones. As a further example, needs and potential for benefit exist for tracking individuals, including children, for their own protection.
In a particular example, in the past, convicted sex offenders have been required to register where they reside and such information has been made available to the public, including via the Internet, so that members of the public can take steps to protect themselves and their children, as examples, from potential future sexual predation. However, many registered sex offenders often reside in densely populated areas, making it difficult for members of the public to keep track of all of them. In addition, parents are not always aware of exactly where there children are at all times. Thus, needs and potential for benefit exist for systems and methods that alert parents or guardians of children when the children enter or travel within a predetermined distance of the residence of a registered sex offender. Needs and potential for benefit also exist for systems and methods that provide positional awareness of particular individuals for other purposes, including such systems and methods that use mobile phones.
Potential for improvement exists in these and other areas that may be apparent to a person of skill in the art having studied this document.
Many entities, such as state governments, operate lotteries in which tickets are sold, at least one winner is selected, usually at random, and the winner is awarded a prize, typically of much greater value than the price of the ticket. Lottery organizers generally collect more in ticket sales than they pay out in prize money, resulting in a net profit for the lottery organizer. Lottery organizers have been known to employ or subcontract to others to help in the distribution of lottery tickets. For example, systems and methods of doing business have been employed in which a lottery organizer, such as a governmental entity, authorizes particular businesses, such as retail business establishments, to sell lottery tickets. In at least some instances, lottery organizers have provided machines or hardware to distributors of lottery tickets, and this hardware has been used to print lottery tickets as they are purchased by customers. In some cases, customers can choose their own lottery ticket numbers, which are entered into the hardware, either by the customer or by a clerk employed by the business. In some cases, hardware that is used to print or distribute lottery tickets has been connected through a network to a central locations and information regarding the lottery tickets that are purchased have been sent to the central location through the network. This information may include, for example, identification numbers of the lottery tickets that have been purchased, a quantity or monetary value of tickets sold, or both.
However, customers typically must come to a distributor of lottery tickets in order to purchase their lottery tickets. This creates an added inconvenience, obstacle, or cost for customers, which may be a significant burden for customers who are busy or are distant from distributors of lottery tickets. Such a burden may be particularly significant for potential customers who have limited mobility or are remote from distributors of lottery tickets, or in cases where weather or other logistics render travel difficult or hazardous. As a result, lottery organizers may not sell as many lottery tickets as they might absent the difficulties or inconvenience of customers traveling to lottery ticket distributors. In addition, brick and mortar lottery ticket distributors typically require expensive facilities and employees which add cost to the distribution of lottery tickets and the distribution of lottery tickets through such distributors may take away from the opportunity to distribute other goods or services through such facilities and businesses. As a result, needs and potential for benefit exist for systems and methods of distributing lottery tickets that do not require (e.g., as many) physical brick and mortar distribution centers, that are conducive to automation, that cost less to implement, require less overhead, require less employee time, are more reliable, are easier for customers to use, that require less travel for customers, etc., for example, than prior art systems and methods for distributing lottery tickets.
Also in the past, but generally in unrelated businesses and other human activities, mobile telephones have been used for various purposes including as tools for the distribution of a variety of goods and services. Mobile phones have been used to communicate between various people, even when they are not at their home or office, including people who are engaged in the distribution of various goods and services. Mobile phones have been used, for example, for audio phone conversations, for sending text messages, for instance, short message service (SMS) messages, to leave voice messages, and to send pictures, as examples. In addition, certain mobile phones have provisions for distribution or purchasing of various goods and services. In addition, some mobile phones offer Internet access, and the Internet has been used widely for the distribution of goods and services. In addition, the Internet has been used for a variety of gambling activities specifically, including selling lottery tickets. However, to purchase lottery tickets on line, a customer must have Internet access, and must go through the tedious process of logging in and finding the correct website. Accordingly, needs and potential for benefit exist for systems and methods for distributing lottery tickets in a manner that is more convenient for customers, for example, using mobile phones, or specifically, using text or SMS messages. Needs and potential for improvement exists for systems and methods for distributing lottery tickets that require less travel, facilitate automation, require less use of real estate (e.g., prime real estate), require fewer employees, are more reliable, do not require the customer to have access to a computer or to the Internet, or the like. Potential for improvement exists in these and other areas that may be apparent to a person of skill in the art having studied this document.